Earlier you could not give the IAS exam after completing IPM because after 5 years you were not awarded a degree but a diploma certificate.

It has changed now, IPM offered by IIM Indore is a full time degree course and not a diploma course.

It is an Integrated program, which means the 5 years of the program will include both Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in the Management field.

If you are interested in pursuing management studies after your high school graduation, class 12th, then you can easily opt for IPM at IIM Indore.

One of my friends took T.I.M.E online coaching for IPM at IIM Indore and having read online reviews from similar aspirants here are some things I got to know.

• This is a 5 years course. The reviews are average. A good path would be to go for CAT after your graduation. 
• But if T.I.M.E is what you want, then it is undoubtedly a good coaching institute for the CAT exam preparation. However, it will only help you if you do serious preparation. 
• During the offline coaching, things would be different and you can perform much better than while learning at online coaching.

It is suggested that offline preparation in TIME would be much better than enrolling online. So try to enroll in a classroom course if possible.

The IPM program at IIM Indore primarily focuses on students who complete their higher secondary. The program is similar to pursuing a 3 year BBA course, or graduating in Economics and moving on to MBA.

Here are some points you might want to take into account before deciding on IPM.

• Following the completion of your BBA degree from one of the top 10 institutes, you might want to choose to go for an MBA via CAT, XAT, XAT, GMAT, or others. In graduation, you will definitely have an edge over the students of IPM. But having the IIM tag definitely offers some advantages.
• However, if you become eligible to enroll at one of the major top 10 B-schools in India following the completion of BBA, then you will have an upper hand nonetheless. In this case, you will not regret the decision of not pursuing IPM.
• One of the most essential topics to discuss is the fee structure. IPM, by far, costs students over 30 Lakhs.

However, if you still go on to choose IIM, then the brand value it offers, can undeniably be beneficial over several other engineering students because of the diversity rule of IIMs. So, for the IPM program, if you are getting it. Otherwise, you can choose to do an MBA after your graduation too.

IIM Rohtak has already started a 5-year Integrated Program in Management (IPM) in 2019. It is similar to the IPM program started by IIM Indore earlier.

There are some minor differences between the two as well such as the minimum percentage required by the student to be eligible for admission in the course. IIM Rohtak has mandated that a student should secure at least 75% in both 10th and 12th to be eligible to apply for this course.

The number of seats offered by the institute is 160. Undergraduate education in management is not very well promoted in India and hopefully, with IIM Indore, IIM Rohtak, and many more to possibly follow suit, the undergraduate management education will also receive the same glory as MBAs.

The IPM course introduced by IIM Rohtak is rigid and flexible at the same time. The course was started by IIM Indore and Rohtak is following the former’s footsteps. Like its Indore counterpart, 2020 is the first batch that will be experimented on.

If we come down to the process certain merits and so-called ‘demerits’ can be put forward.

1. This program is new and has not found its foothold yet which resulted in some hesitation from the first batch of IIM Indore.
2. Before you compare, ask yourself some questions like, if you have received the offer and if you have then what you are planning to do with it. There are high prospects but as the program is still new it would take some time to turn up on the map.
3. It is not mature to bring up the fact that the institute is in Haryana. There is an IIT in Kharagpur and Kanpur and they attract tons of candidates during admission.

The reports of the average placement drive of 2020 show that the highest package offered was as high as INR 24 LPA. It’s pretty certain the figures would see an increase in the future. The placements may be as good as, and/or even better than the current package for PGP.

List your priorities and decide accordingly. You will be using a lot of money and will get little or no return on investment (ROI). The IIM brand name will serve you for the better.

One of my cousins is a part of the institute, and since he belongs from a non-maths background, he was able to elaborate on the situation. Here is what he had to say.

The journey can undeniably be difficult for non-Math students but it is not impossible. There are other students, alongside my cousin, who is in the same situation but are still managing to do good as other students with a Maths background. They are securing more than average in most quantitative subjects.

You will need to put in extra effort to do well in quantitative subjects. But you can as well as any student from a Math background if you are willing to work hard.

Thus, it depends upon how you choose to prepare and strategize.